You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under
chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 142512.

The City of Jourdanton (the "city") received a request for information regarding the fines for
violations of certain city ordinances, all police reports from August 18, 2000 to
September 20, 2000, information concerning an incident involving Daniel Brady, and
complaints made against five named persons. The city has asserted no exceptions under the
Public Information Act (the "act") to withhold the requested information.

If a governmental body wishes to withhold from public disclosure information that has been
requested, then it must ask for a decision from the attorney general and raise the applicable
exceptions within ten business day after the governmental body receives the written request
for information. Gov't Code § 552.301(a), (b). This office did not receive the city's request
for a decision within the ten business day period mandated by section 552.301(a). The city
received the request for information on September 29, 2000, but the city's request for a
decision was postmarked October 16, 2000. Moreover, the city has failed to comply with
section 552.301 by its failure to state the exceptions that apply to withhold the information
from public disclosure.

Pursuant to section 552.301(e), a governmental body is required to submit to this office
within fifteen business days of receiving an open records request a copy of the specific
information requested or representative samples, labeled to indicate which exceptions apply
to which parts of the documents. The city also failed to submit to this office copies or
representative samples of the specific information that was requested.

The requested information is presumed to be public information when a governmental body
does not comply with section 552.301. Gov't Code § 552.302. In order to overcome the
presumption that the requested information is public information, a governmental body must
provide compelling reasons why the information should not be disclosed. Id.; Hancock v. State Bd. of Ins., 797 S.W.2d 379, 381 (Tex. App.--Austin 1990, no writ); see Open Records Decision No. 630 (1994). You have not raised any specific compelling reasons to overcome the presumption that the information is public. Thus, we conclude that the information must be released to the requestor. We caution that the distribution of confidential information
constitutes a criminal offense. Gov't Code § 552.352.

For future reference, if the city needs assistance in complying with the act, the city may
contact the Open Government Hotline, which is staffed by personnel trained to answer
questions about the act. The Hotline may be reached toll free at (877) 673-6839.

This letter ruling is limited to the particular records at issue in this request and limited to the
facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous
determination regarding any other records or any other circumstances.

This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the
governmental body and of the requestor. For example, governmental bodies are prohibited
from asking the attorney general to reconsider this ruling. Gov't Code § 552.301(f). If the
governmental body wants to challenge this ruling, the governmental body must appeal by
filing suit in Travis County within 30 calendar days. Id. 552.324(b). In order to get the full
benefit of such an appeal, the governmental body must file suit within 10 calendar days. Id.
§ 552.353(b)(3), (c). If the governmental body does not appeal this ruling and the
governmental body does not comply with it, then both the requestor and the attorney general
have the right to file suit against the governmental body to enforce this ruling. Id.
§ 552.321(a).

If this ruling requires the governmental body to release all or part of the requested
information, the governmental body is responsible for taking the next step. Based on the
statute, the attorney general expects that, within 10 calendar days of this ruling, the
governmental body will do one of the following three things: 1) release the public
records; 2) notify the requestor of the exact day, time, and place that copies of the records
will be provided or that the records can be inspected; or 3) notify the requestor of the
governmental body's intent to challenge this letter ruling in court. If the governmental body
fails to do one of these three things within 10 calendar days of this ruling, then the requestor
should report that failure to the attorney general's Open Government Hotline, toll free,
at 877/673-6839. The requestor may also file a complaint with the district or county
attorney. Id. § 552.3215(e).

If this ruling requires or permits the governmental body to withhold all or some of the
requested information, the requestor can appeal that decision by suing the governmental
body. Id. § 552.321(a); Texas Department of Public Safety v. Gilbreath, 842 S.W.2d 408,411 (Tex. App.--Austin 1992, no writ).

Please remember that under the Act the release of information triggers certain procedures for
costs and charges to the requestor. If records are released in compliance with this ruling, be
sure that all charges for the information are at or below the legal amounts. Questions or
complaints about over-charging must be directed to Hadassah Schloss at the General
Services Commission at 512/475-2497.

If the governmental body, the requestor, or any other person has questions or comments
about this ruling, they may contact our office. Although there is no statutory deadline for
contacting us, the attorney general prefers to receive any comments within 10 calendar days
of the date of this ruling.